In memory: Her impact was enduring. Scott Puckett considers his grandmother to be the “greatest influence to prepare anything in the kitchen.”

As a cook in a lumber camp in Northern Michigan, his grandmother would concoct wondrous meals while she and Puckett’s grandfather lived with his family during his youth. After his grandmother passed away, Puckett longed to prepare some of his grandmother’s signature dishes, but there was no written record of her recipes because she never measured ingredients.

“She always said to use a pinch of this or the tip of a knife for that,” he said.

A residential real estate agent and an actor, Puckett recently served his fellow cast members in “To Protect and Serve” his own versions of his grandmother’s meals, always in her memory.

Chili reception: Puckett has enjoyed much culinary success over the years, some of which resulted from one fateful day at work.

That’s when a coworker gave him a copy of a chili recipe, then shared a personal story. Her boyfriend had been a Texas chili cook-off king and wrote the recipe with a notation: “I must love you because no one else on earth has this recipe.”

However, the boyfriend later cheated on this coworker, so she made hundreds of copies of the recipe. The dish became known as “Scorned-Woman Chili,” and Puckett has won several blue ribbons with it.

Not one to keep a good thing to himself, he shared the recipe with several friends who were entering chili contests, and they all received first-place prizes.

Difference maker: Puckett’s stuffed pork chops are legendary, with a brine that requires 24 hours to set. He often serves the dish at home, where it is enjoyed by his wife and children, Alexandrea, and Christoffer.

Sometimes a stuffed pork chop can be more than a meal. Once his friend’s daughter and boyfriend stopped by Puckett’s house temporarily en route to a Northern California destination, and Puckett was eager to share some of his prized pork chops.

“His daughter was agitated and didn’t want to stop to eat,” Puckett remembers. “Her boyfriend wanted to eat, but she insisted that they drive up the coast instead.”

So Puckett packed some of his pork chops for the couple. He soon received a call with a message: “That’s the best pork chops I ever had and please give her dad the recipe.”

Shortly after, the couple became engaged, and “my friend credits me for getting his daughter and son-in-law married because of my recipe.”

The Star welcomes recipes from local cooks. To suggest a home chef, please email writer Eva Smythe at esmythe@mac.com.

Scorned-woman chili

Sauce ingredients

2 large cans tomatoes

2 bundles green onions

1 tablespoon garlic salt

4 fresh tomatoes

5-6 jalapeno peppers

Pepper to taste

Chili ingredients

1 pound cubed tri-tip

1 pound chili, ground

1 pound pork sausage

1 large onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oil, more if necessary

garlic

16-ounce can lima/butter beans

2 tablespoons chili sauce or ketchup

1 tablespoon salt

16-ounce can of corn

1-2 tablespoons chili powder

1-2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 medium-body beer

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cumin

16-ounce can pinto/kidney beans

16-ounce can garbanzo beans

1 tablespoon oregano

1-2 cups chopped green chiles

Garnish ingredients

Cheddar cheese

Chopped green pepper

Chopped red onions

Chopped tomatoes

Directions

Combine sauce ingredients in a blender and set aside.

Saute onion and bell pepper in oil.

Add the meats to brown, then drain.

Combine the remaining ingredients, including the sauce, to the meat and vegetables and bring to a boil.